kevin gets a pass to stay with us at the gate till it is time to board. awesome. chami is pretty excited. she’s been watching planes go by for well over an hour. we got to the airport thinking the plane was to depart an hour earlier. my belly is sad. flying isn’t my favortie thing. now having a child i cannot medicate myself with adult refreshments and little round things that resemble candy when i board a plane. i overwhelm myself with taking way too many things as carry on luggage. we say our good-byes. i swore i would never go away without kevin after my four week trip to costa rica with baby in belly for as long as i did. well, this was only two and a half weeks. bummer. but i have my best friend to occupy all of my attention. chami leads me down the aisle and we find our seats. she jumps on to them looks out the window with splendor and repeats, “a plane, a plane, mom. a plane.” over and over again. lucky for us we couldn’t have had a better person to share our row with.

we soar through the sky and chami is digging the ride for the most part. a little into it she decides it is necessary to shut the widow shade and that it remained closed. she grew weary of looking down at the clouds instead of up. we munched on snacks, colored, placed stickers in a notebook, looked through flashcards and exchanged conversation with our new friend. 

we landed. loaded everything in our bags, chami helped with her little pack pack. said our thank you’s and our goodbyes. we set to find my family first, then gather our luggage. it’s hard to believe it has been over a year since we were here. the remarkable weather, didn’t really pay much attention the last 25 years, and being surrounded by my parents, in-laws, aunts, uncles, cousins, and nieces all at the same time. i was pretty eager to get the trip started. i had three weeks to bask in the sun, play in the ocean, see some old friends and eat at my favorite restaurants. 

i brought a journal that was given to me by my best friend, karol, several years ago and in it i attempt to right the events in which my life partakes. it never really last long. the recording of events. in that one journal i have attempeted to start an entry at many, many different times in my life. this time i taped a picture of kevin so i can show chami every night before bed. but i never wrote anything down of this trip. may bits and pieces of our california adventure has already been forgotten mostly when events took place and other small details due to my lack of ability to remember such things.

so week one, fragmented.

my parents. my nieces. visiting van buren elementary school and the soothing walk to and fro. my parent’s big house, seems even bigger. helen. bella and buster, the dogs. trader joe’s. henry’s. family get-together. drinks at kelly’s with the cousins and my brothers.

hobby city. knott’s berry farm with the fam. snoopy. ice capades. a little too nutty for cham.

in awe of television and it’s programs (we don’t have one). yo gabba gabba. the flinstones. the jetsons. huckleberry hound. popeye. oswald.

swimming in chino hills. my godson. nana the dog. wheel o gouda. fruit fest. bumble bees.

fullerton train station. alex. goodwill bin digging. lee’s sandwhiches. camera hunting. mother’s market. newport beach on a chilly day. pre-gaming. the crosby in santa ana. in and out.  ”i can’t spend money…. wait there’s in and out…we have to!!” gorging on food. again and again. 

family. playing in the kiddie pool.  chami’s meltdown. my meltdown. firework show unattended by chami, again. 

fullerton station again. good-bye alex, for now. yorba linda ’s main street.  the farmer’s market. testing my new camera. giant dahlias. garage sale. treasure hunting in orange. bbq with karol and a portion of her family. a nice long walk to the park. the park. “good-bye playground. see you tomorrow.” another nice walk back to the house. root beer floats. life lessons given by my mom. drinks in fullerton. del taco. 

magnificent breakfast at the in-laws. nacho and rayito, the dogs. picking fruit in the backyard. lots of grapes hanging from the vines.

glendale. forest lawn. helen. my parents. rolling hills. fountains. statues. a painting over a hundred feet long. a museum. la smog settled over the san fernando valley. asian cuisine. elephant oysters. city of orange. margaritas with andrew. krispy kreme donuts. banana fritter.

cineamopolis. wall e. andrew and the girls. karlea and the kids.

week two.

old town temecula. treasure hunting. anza. more treasure hunting. rodrigo and elena. revamped ranch. the country. stars. goats. chickens. elena’s herb garden. the pond. tia ana’s house and her amazing shrimp salad.

don jose’s with alvaro. banana margarita. phone call to miami. ivan and avery. karol. brynn. the orange circle. 

huntington beach with andrew and the girls. sushi with jeniene. cold saki. pink berry. the rubik’s cube master. hollywood. the roosevelt. tropicana.  summer. karol and her sad tummy. 

six am at hermosa beach. the perfect way to start the day. late night party at karlea’s place with the kids. treats and movies. screaming little girls.

santa ana. harvey’s. the little party. the outfit. snacks. paint. up and down the stairs. shea won a bad ass gift bag. go zilla. back to hermosa beach with andrew and the girls. karol. rock band. quick dip in the ocean. more rock band.

breakfast with joceyln and simon. daisy the cat. tulip the kitten. hours in the swimming pool. tk burger. the anti mall. nick and sarah’s for dinner. playtime with the neighbor’s kids.

my mom and her friend, christina. basically forcing them to eat some very serious vegetarian cuisine. massage. superb asian market. swimming and food with the gomez family. gourmet dinner with alana, randy and dakota. one of the best little familes i know. chami on the keyboard. and chami’s attempt to run away.

week three.

hours treasure hunting with chami. first ride on supermarket horse and merry-go-round.dinner with mom and her bad ass friends. jessica and terri. awful margaritas. the nutcracker.

pan dulce con cafe with zinnia, zora and gabe. ferndales to visit ruthie, emily, mama linnert and the gang. swimming with danielle and the twins. endless jumping in the pool. chami chasing sophie. jumping on the bed. back to hotel roosevelt. summer and karol. and the guys that wished they could tag-a-long with them. anita and alex and the parked car. contemplating jumping in the pool. in and out and del taco.

photoshoot with the girls. chami on the piano. shea on the trumpet. taylor in her ice skates. goldfish. vitamins. jumping on the bed. pum the plumeria.

and we are finally off to pick up papa from the best little airport. reunited and it feels so good. in and out. marshalls. the muñoz house. the railroad inn with friends to welcome kevin back. 

lee’s sandwiches. the tux shop. the streets of santa ana. late night walk on the beach in hermosa. walk on the pier. i am convinced this is what it will be like when entering heaven. long walk back to karol’s place. amazing set up for kevin, chami and i to have the place for ourselves and a couple extra surprises like wine and money for dinner and breakfast. thank you, delightful friend of ours.

eight am in hermosa beach. great, but not as effective as the six am hour. quick dip in the ocean. playdate in long beach with the rebbenack and douglas ladies and kids. the outfit. one day we will be back. kimmy and mike’ss wedding. tigers and zebras. lots of alcohol. apples and oranges, too. and glass in my feet.

san pedro with the family. chami’s godmother and kids. fresh fish for the picking, cooking and eating. giant ships. hermosa beach with the in-laws, one last time. taking hours to pack and filling two extra giant suitcases to with prizes. chami’s fever.

our plane leaves an hour late. chami has a fever. kevin doesn’t feel well either. we munch on blue terra chips. i watch be kind rewind. i continualy track the plane on its 512mph journey flying above thirty thousand feet in the atmosphere and announce each time we fly over a different state. i realize kevin is passed out so i celebrate with glee on my own. chami actually passes out before we depart. thank goodness. i was getting the evil eye from passengers when chami was crying pretty loudly when we first get in our seats. she wakes up right before we land. we experience a very bumpy descent and landing. to the point where i was holding on the armrest for dear life. we forget chami’s stroller at the gate but all the luggage and the stroller are retrieved before our great friend, peter, picks us up.

i really missed our little home. nothing like being welcomed by the hot breath that is austin weather, 100 degrees at 7:30pm.